Silk jacquard and cotton jacquard outfit by couture student and up and coming fashion designer, Natalia K.
Couture in Washington? Sure, if you do it yourself, you can drape and dart while everyone else tucks and rolls thanks to new classes beginning this week at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) taught by Nora Elias, a former atelier member trained at the most prestigious fashion school in the world. No, not the one everyone on Project Runway takes the subway to, but the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. That’s in Paris, in case anyone was still wondering.
Elias worked in the atelier (also in Paris, mais oui) of Jean-Louis Scherrer, who at that time was a member of the Chambre Syndicale before launching his own label, and worked on pieces by Yves Saint Laurent at Christian Dior — intricate designs in the most delicate of silks and lace.
“It was breathtaking to see the garments that I worked on to file down the runway during the High Fashion Week in Paris,” she stated.
On the other side of the ocean, at CHAW, where a dressmaker’s dummy stands awaiting you in the front office, Elias will teach two classes: Spring Fashion Sewing for Beginners and Demi-Couture Sewing.
“In the beginners class I will be teaching students how to make simple blouses, skirts, and pants. These projects will provide students with an essential foundation necessary for moving onto more advanced garment projects. The Demi-Couture class is designed for students with prior sewing experience and will concentrate on couture techniques that can be used for making more advanced garments, such as evening gowns and suits,” Nora said.
Couture means that no machine touches the final outfit or piece of clothing. In demi-couture, some finishes are by hand, others by machine.
“My ultimate goal in these classes is to inspire and enable each student to unleash their creativity and fulfill their visions of beauty,” said Nora, who tends to inspire, it appears,
One of her students, Natalia, who doesn’t want to use her last name as she is not ready to announce the collection she will be unveiling soon (see photo above), said that Nora’s classes “changed my life.”
Natalia took classes in Rockville with Nora and learned how to achieve a perfect fitting, how fabrics behave, how they react to certain drapes, tools, and darts and how to achieve a perfect fitting on the customer’s body. The K Street PR professional went to study in Italy last summer after beginning classes in the Fall of 2008 with Nora, and has since left her job to pursue fashion design.
Nora “makes you so motivated to be patient and take your time to have a dialogue with the fabric… What Nora really teaches is how to listen to the fabric folds, the way it behaves, to bring the best out of it, to bring it out and not use it for what it is not meant to be used for,” Natalia said.
The Demi-Couture classes begin Tuesday, April 13th and are $272. Each student will select his/her own project, which can be a sophisticated jacket, evening gown or a special occasion dress. No weight loss or body makeover necessary — the clothing will enhance the body of the wearer. Nora knows of no perfect body, anyway, Natalia says. To get started on making something smashing and terribly unique for yourself or for a daughter, mother, grandfather or local blogger, call CHAW for more information at 202-547-6839 or www.chaw.org.
Is there a reason that both classes are offered during the day on weekdays? It’s very disappointing for those who have to work.
It’s also disappointing that they started today.
CHAW plans on offering the Couture classes during the evenings this summer (June 14-August 6) and beyond. Also, there’s still time to register for this session if you are interested. Visit http://www.chaw.org for more info.